A milestone World Health Organization (WHO) decision to recognise noma (cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis) as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) is the result of a longstanding campaign waged for over a decade by global health researchers and advocates in Geneva and beyond. Proponents believe that inclusion can offer noma’s victims the […] Continue reading ->
As we approach the final months of member-state negotiations over a World Health Organization Pandemic Accord, due to come before the World Health Assembly in May, the efforts to forge a consensus have witnessed modest progress. However, the original divide between developed and developing countries on key issues such as finance, access and benefit sharing, […] Continue reading ->
With a drop in government spending on preparedness and woefully inadequate donor pledges, how can the ambitious new commitments envisioned for a WHO Pandemic Accord ever be financed? This second issue of Governing Pandemics Snapshot, looks at this conundrum and possible solutions, including creative forms of debt relief for low-income nations.  This issue also provides […] Continue reading ->
A tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate that has shown modest efficacy rates received a $550 million boost from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Wellcome Trust, which announced on Tuesday that they will cover its Phase 3 clinical trials. The candidate vaccine, M72, showed modest 54% efficacy in preventing the development of symptomatic TB […] Continue reading ->
According to an article recently published in the Lancet, some 10% to 25% of the USD $7 trillion spent on healthcare globally every year is lost because of corruption – an amount that exceeds the investments needed to achieve universal healthcare by 2030. To understand how corruption affects healthcare worldwide, the Global Health Centre at […] Continue reading ->
Infant formula companies have “pathologised” normal baby behaviour to promote their products, and there should be “an international, legal treaty” to prevent their marketing,  according to health experts. In addition, political lobbying by milk formula companies to influence public policy should be sharply curtailed.  These are some of the suggestions contained in a three-part series […] Continue reading ->
Hybrid immunity from a combination of being vaccinated and previously infected with COVID-19 offers better protection against hospitalisation and severe infection than immunity simply from a previous infection, according to a new study in The Lancet. People with hybrid immunity were 97.4% less likely to be hospitalised or suffer severe infection at 12 months, whereas those […] Continue reading ->